Best Wrist Rests

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A wrist rest only helps if its top surface is level with the front edge of your keyboard, and this is the detail almost everyone gets wrong. Sit a thick rest in front of a low-profile keyboard and the hands are pushed upward into extension, which is the exact posture the rest is supposed to prevent, while a rest that is too low leaves the wrist unsupported and hanging. Measure the keyboard's front edge height and buy to match it, then note that the name is misleading: the pad is there to support the heel of the palm between bursts of typing, not to be leaned on while your fingers move, because resting weight on the wrist compresses the tunnel the nerve runs through. Firmness follows from that. Memory foam compresses slowly under the palm and spreads the load, which suits most people; gel-topped foam is firmer and cooler to the touch but transmits more of a hard desk through it. Length has to cover the keys you actually use, so a rest sized for a full-width board leaves a gap under a tenkeyless one, and paired keyboard-plus-mouse sets are worth it only if both surfaces sit at the same height. A rubberised non-slip base is essential, since a rest that creeps forward with every keystroke gets thrown away. Look for a removable or wipeable cover, because these pick up hand oils fast.